SOUTHLAND

UC Santa Barbara 57, Cal State Northridge 54--In a game of comebacks, the Gauchos had the finishing kick before 1,419 at Cal State Northridge.

Santa Barbara also had the fast start , but the Matadors wouldn’t let an awful opening 10 minutes keep them from taking the game to the wire despite shooting 29.1% from the field.

It wasn’t until Markus Carr’s last-second three-point attempt bounced off the rim that Santa Barbara could relax.

The Gauchos (10-4, 4-1 in conference play) stayed among Big West leaders by attacking the basket down the stretch while Northridge (3-10, 2-2) settled unsuccessfully for three-point shots. The Matadors made only two of 14 three-point attempts in the second half, and Carr, who ignited a comeback from a 19-2 deficit in the first half, missed all 10 of his second-half shots, including six from behind the arc.

“In the second half, we got to the basket more and that forced the issue,” said sophomore forward Branduinn Fullove, who led Santa Barbara with 18 points and made two free throws for a 57-54 lead with 10.4 seconds left. “It opened things up for us.”

Santa Barbara trailed, 43-37, with 10 minutes left before going on a 9-0 run and taking the lead for good, 49-48, on B.J. Ward’s three-point play with 4:35 left. Consecutive layups by reserve guard Nick Jones gave the Gauchos their biggest lead of the second half, 54-48, with 48 seconds left before Northridge mounted one last rally, pulling within 55-54 on Joseph Frazier’s basket after a steal with 11.9 seconds remaining.

But that was nothing compared to the comeback the Matadors mounted in the first half, when they missed their first 13 shots and twice fell behind by 17 points in the opening 10:33. Northridge rallied with an aggressive half-court trap and Carr made three three-pointers during a 22-3 run to put the Matadors ahead, 26-24, at halftime.

Curtis Slaughter led Northridge with 15 points.